[Ghouligan]

The Undertow continues to expand.

For the safety of previous members, Ghoul is here to introduce these inductees to one another. He’s presenting them with a challenge — one that’ll prove their skill, and earnestness, and demonstrate the purpose of the group. In times of trouble, when there are things you cannot do alone, call on The Undertow.

The previous members are busy, too. Gadget is working on creating symbols for the group, the actual network is still underway, and Guts is working on the safe house project… a few others have found themselves busy with other, personal ventures to occupy their time. With their blessing, Ghouligan has invited the group to a temporary safe house.

It’d look unassuming from the outside.

You might think it an old, rundown store on the cusp of refurbishing. Some signs indicate arrest for any trespassers and a few others mention when it’ll reopen — a year from now. In a week, The Undertow will have abandoned the property, but he’ll explain the details of that later.

For now, an umbral figure covered in shadow, adorns a skull mask on his face, awaiting the arrival of his new contemporaries. On his back is a cue stick and on his hips is a sack of pool balls. Due to his recent activities, some may have heard of him through police reports or local news — a dangerous reputation befitting a murderer. Others might not. There are even members coming that Ghouligan is unaware of, people who may not have been invited at all.

Eventually, moles and traitors will be run out of the group. Ghouligan has personally guaranteed this. Until then, he waits.

---

There will be four rounds of posting.

• The first round is blanket introductions for your characters. Please include a physical description and why they have decided to come.
• The second round is Ghouligan giving a proper introduction to the Undertow. He asks for introductions and stated goals (What are they looking to accomplish by being a vigilante?)
• The third round is the introduction of a follow-up mission. The Undertow is looking to stop a mutant trafficking operation, targeting young animal-like children for a circus.
• The fourth round is outros. Have fun with it ;D

- This thread is open to other vigilantes who want to join. If you're from a different faction, just DM me and we can work things out!
- You only have to post once per round, but you can post more.
- If you have to skip a round (life happens), you can compensate in later rounds.
- This thread will be submitted as a non-threatening mission when completed (February).
- The first round ends on January 24th, 2024.

---

JoJo | roadhog | Kysaly
Mafdet Khepri | Hiro

[JoJo]

It had come to her attention, that Ghouligan did indeed not mean that he was trying to hook her up with other people. Instead, the Masochist had sent her an update stating this was to 'meet' other vigilantes. Now this may not the be best thing for someone who is a student at a University to go to, but let's be real here. At this point, she had done more vigilante activities, than after-school activities, the last big thing she did at that school was a bake sale where some fella hit on her, so ya know what she'd at least hear out the motion of this meeting.

For starters no way in hell was she going to show up showing her face so she went with something simple in this case. Cover herself in ichor for her disguise and put on some baggy shorts and a tank on top of all that. The hair on top of her head was poofed out and she was ready to meet all the new people.

So here we are now, in front of this riveting rundown piece of potential, that's what was before her right now, potential. Like every run-down dump she had been to in the past where she either met a rich vigilante or someone trying to kill her and leave her body. This place had all the potential in the world to change her life for the better, or throw her corpse in a gutter and be found later bloated and blotted.

Walking into the room she looked left and then right, after that she had to absolutely try her hardest to not laugh. Oh god, he was really wearing a friggin skull mask that looked like he walked out of the movie with the bdsm demon.

'Don't laugh, don't laugh or he'll kill you.' She kept reiterating the phrase in her head whilst the other guy up in her head was itching to have a crack at that no-face ghoul. Instead, Peacekeeper sat on top of the cleanest table she could find and stayed quiet singing songs in her head.

Who knows maybe another student or someone she knew would show up which would be even more awkward cause this is Peacekeeper and not Jojo.

[Mafdet Khepri]

A bell gave off a soft ring when Khepri pushed open the door. Realizing they were trying to be sneaky they quickly took it off their collar and left it by the entrance. It didn't match the rest of their outfit anyway. To make sure their identity was protected they were wearing their open-faced Vulture mask and their 'Sphinx' costume. It had been a while since they'd worn it. The last time they remembered doing so was back in Egypt.

A baggy sleeveless croptop in white that ended just above their midriff and a toga-like skirt of the same color served as Khepri's main articles of clothing but were far from the only things they were wearing for a plethora of jewelry adorned them as well. An Egyptian collar necklace covered in beads matched the two armbands on their upper arms. Extending down from both of the armbands were several long feathers reaching almost all the way to the pair of gold and cloth vambraces covering their forearms and the back of their wrists. 

It was enough gold to beggar the average person and yet it was far from all they had on them for covering their knees were two more large pieces with all manner of baubles and trinkets hanging from them. Poleyns, if Khepri remembered correctly. Their European was a bit rusty. Finishing the ensemble were two similarly adorned toeless sabatons with cloth wrappings instead of the usual shoes that accompanied such a thing leaving the sharp nails on their feet uncovered.

Stepping into the room Khepri greeted the people already there with a wave before pointing at JoJo as they looked her right in the eye.

"Hiya. I don't know you. I'm sure of it."

It wasn't a lie. While they had the distinct feeling they'd met the ichory person before they couldn't quite remember where. Could you truly say you knew someone if you didn't even recognize them while they were completely disguised? Khepri didn't think so. Their pointing finger moved over to Ghouligan.

"You I've seen on the radio. I'm surer of it."

They wondered if anyone else would show up. Just in case they moved over to the side of the room with a skip in their step, an ominous sight combined with how predatory their eyes looked at the moment.

------

Tags: Ghouligan JoJo roadhog Kysaly Hiro 

[Hiro]

That first meeting with the guy that named himself Ghouligan had been a bit of an odd one. Hiro regularly was aloof, and regularly forgot important things. But that idea of a meeting had been on his mind, and when he had gotten himself the invite, he had found himself going.

Maybe there was free food, he loved free food.

"Well I have made it, despite the directions." he’d joke out loud as the scraggly vigilante made his way in, sword clinging to his back and wearing his trusty tracksuit.

But he had made sure to wash it this time, first impressions mattered, he guessed… Well, technically, this would be a second impression. But as he’d notice, he wasn’t the only person that got the invitation.

"But it’s not like I’m here because you told me or something…” he’d say crossing his arms and acting bashfully, on purpose, very much on purpose.

He’d glance around some more, there were a few others already, ones that he didn’t recognize and he assumed didn’t recognize him back. And someone about the size of a Ghouligan wearing a skull mask. It also made him realize that he was the only one right now not in any disguise, he assumed.

Not that he cared that much about keeping his identity a secret, hard to have a secret identity when he himself hardly knew his own actual identity. He was going to wing it, every single step of the way and every single interaction.

"Yo, I’m Hiro. You two also here for the super secret ‘don’t tell a soul’ hangout?” he’d greet the others, casually dropping his name. "I had hoped there was food, though. These meetings are soooo boring without snacks!”

---

Mafdet Khepri, JoJo, Ghouligan |

[roadhog]

Shouldering his way into the premises, a bucket of fried chicken hugged under his fur-clad arm, a hulking beast man stood in the doorway. A clawed hand popped the welding goggles up off of his eyes and onto his brow, peering around the dusty interior with a curled lip, baring an incisor. Bringing a drumstick up to his mouth, he took a bite, followed by another, finishing with an audible crunch as he snapped right through the bone, chewing up his greasy goodness and calling out to the group.

"What is this Halloween or somethin'? I guess I forgot my costume at home, sorry chief." He gestured to the man in the skull mask with his half eaten chicken leg. Letting out a high pitched cackle, sending bits of bone and chicken spraying from his teeth briefly, he found the closest seat and dropped himself into it with a thud, creaking under his weight, before propping his legs up. His black combat boots were split at the toe, a set of sharp claws jutting out of the material. Chicken grease dripped down onto the sleeveless leather jacket he wore, running his claws back through his red maned mohawk while he looked around the room at the interesting group of freaks that had shown up. He didn't see Hothead here yet, maybe he was running late.

@

[Arima]

Arima didn't know the appropriate outfit for this occasion so he just picked his usual black suit when doing Vigilante stuff and paired it with a white fox mask for anonymity. As he made his way inside the building, he realized none of the other guests were hiding their identities, so he decided to remove his mask and put it at a random table he just passed by. He looked around the room, scanning every face to see any familiar faces but found none. He also checked the place to see if there was anything that indicated that the place had been set up for a trap but in the meantime, he found none. He had already memorized all the possible exits in case of high-level dangers so he thought he needed to relax at the moment.

Instead of socializing with the other invitees, Arima chose to stand in a corner, waiting for someone to explain why they were summoned to this place. He crossed his arms and rested his back on the wall, not saying a word. Being a vigilante, he wants to make sure that this organization won't be associated with any villains or any kind of criminal activity. But he is open to being affiliated with one since he's been making enemies recently. In his mind, he’s trying to figure out how to adjust himself since socializing and coordinating with others are two of his weaknesses as an individual.

Ghouligan JoJo Mafdet Khepri Hiro roadhog

[Kysaly]

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[attr="class","AudenHidden"]The new recruits

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Kysaly

Ah, this was awkward. As much as Kysaly thought that they would be able to be a part of a faction, Kysaly knew that they weren't like the rest of them. Most of the time, roles like Kysaly had were overlooked-the doctor role was most sought after, but easily forgotten about until it was a necessity. In this instance, Kysaly only hoped that the others in this new organization actually wanted someone perhaps less useful around.

A casual outfit was what they decided to go for. Their outfit consisted of a long brown trench coat, a black turtleneck shirt, dark gray slacks with black dress shoes and a red scarf. Perhaps that would be overdressed for others, but it was comfortable for Kysaly. When it came to hiding their identity, that wasn't fully something that they thought about- should it have been anonymous?

Kysaly got their answer as they opened the door to costumed or covered people. "Oh." Was the only thing they could say in that instance. Their face was out in the open for all of them to see, sadly. Kysaly could only hope that none of them were stalkers and would follow them back to their place or something weird like that. Rather than socializing or interrupting anyone, Kysaly would move to the side of the room with a bow towards the people they passed, almost mimicking what they see someone else doing on the opposite side of the room. Kysaly really wasn't a talker unless they had to, so they'd wait for someone to ask a question.

Notes

ᓬ Long brown trench coat, black turtleneck shirt, dark gray slacks with black dress shoes, red scarf

Kysaly Arima Ghouligan JoJo Mafdet Khepri Hiro roadhog

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[Ghouligan]

“Welcome to The Undertow,” Ghouligan began. With crossed arms, he looked at the new arrivals, surprised by the evergrowing number of people interested. His unblinking eyes scanned each of them, wondering if they’d brave the new world they had stumbled upon.

“First and foremost, my name is Ghouligan.” He continued. “None of you have to be here. And if you’re not interested, you have no obligation to stay.” Again, he looked around, seeing who may or may not be on the fence about the whole endeavor.

“The Undertow is an underground network of vigilantes and like-minded people who operate outside of the law. We aren’t propagandists. We aren’t on a sacred mission. And we don’t have a hierarchy. The point of The Undertow is to compensate for our lack of infrastructure. Some problems require cooperation. Sometimes, you need resources. And without the hero institution, we’re often lost and on our own. Not anymore.”

A pause.

“But it’s all voluntary. If someone you dislike or disagree with asks for help, you don’t have to help. It’s of utmost importance that I emphasize we are all our own people.”

“Still, understanding each other is important. Some of us choose to keep our identities a secret, while others stand proud in defiance of the law.” He acknowledged the few without alter egos, even if they had done so unintentionally. “Before we move on, I’d like a formal introduction of everyone here. Give me your name — whatever you prefer to be called — and your goals.”

Ghouligan gestures with his hand, tossing it to the rest of the group. He wonders who will speak up first, if at all.

---

The second round ends January 31st, 2024.
If you still wish to join, DM me.

JoJo Mafdet Khepri Hiro
roadhog Arima Kysaly

[JoJo]

"Could've at least got some pizza or Chinese, nothing says lack of infrastructure like no refreshments."

Those words were more for herself than anyone else before she spoke to the group as was suggested by the masochist. Though she had no plans to use her actual voice, god forbid someone here knew people at the university. In other words, it was time for Jo to try out the prepubescent voice one last time.

If it failed Jo could say she was trying to be funny and break the ice accomplishing neither and earning neither.

"Alright, guess I'll go first, hi my name is Peacekeeper. Ya know I'm just trying to 'keep the peace'. Whether that includes taking down sea monsters or giant robots. Making sure ole ghouls ova there has someone to vent too, I guess that falls all underneath my goals. Uhh love the outfits by the way, I've never really been one for fashion myself on the count of money but ya know its always good to see so many personalities 'radiating' here today."

If they could see the large smile on her face they'd likely be infatuated too much, a curse of being pretty. Though that didn't matter, all that mattered was she herself had given a pretty good introduction and Samson didn't take over and start a fight, or rip someone's arms off and call everybody slurs...

He means well honest.

Ghouligan Mafdet Khepri Hiro roadhog Arima Kysaly

[Hugh Morris]

“Huhh?” A low, gruff voice calls out. If you were to look around, you wouldn’t see anyone suspicious, but you would notice a wobbling trashcan. A few seconds later it tips over. A dead body spills from the insides. An overgrown, tattered coat covers most of the figure, but it’s more than obvious that this thing is entirely made of bones.

Hugh rubs his eyes. There aren’t any eyes to rub, but it’s a habit he kept from the few years he had them fifty or so years ago. Scanning the room, he picks himself off the ground, still groggy from microdosing death. A tiny, tiny skeleton that looks like it belongs to a kid. The voice does not match.

“Either I’m still asleep or you’re a buncha fuckin’ freaks lmao.” A few of them were normal, but if you’re hanging out with people dressed in Halloween costumes, you get swept under the same rug. “Plus, that’s cultural appropriation, bub.”

Hugh’s lookin’ at the poser with the skull mask. Kinda fucked up when you’re face to face with a real skeleton, isn’t it?

“I’m Hugh,” His pinky plays with the holes where his nostrils used to be. It’s almost as if he can smell how shitty he smells — a mix between rotting corpse, dumpster trash, and car oil. “I’m here so I’ll listen but idk about all this shit. You’re all snotnosed kids…” He clears his throat, tryna hack up phlegm that’s been there for 20, 30 years and hasn’t budged. No luck. “I think.”

---

only ghoul is getting the exp

Ghouligan JoJo Mafdet Khepri
Hiro Arima roadhog Kysaly

[Hoshino Tamaki]

[nospaces]

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What is it about rundown stores that gets people to overlook it? Disinterest akin to the neglect that had originally let it rot? Does a place seemingly without a soul deter people from seeking what lays beneath?[break][break]

Whatever the case, it seems that this building holds more life than one would ever suspect. Eyes of molten gold pour over the scene, featherlight steps placed atop rickety wooden planks - One foot after another, dancing precariously over the heads of far too many unfamiliar faces.[break][break]

Strangers drawn in by a common goal, all led by a skull mask. The Undertow, or so he calls it. If he hadn't continued to explain, she might just have assumed this to be some kind of cult indoctrination.[break][break]

A network of vigilantes and like-minded people though? These people asked to share their names? Goals? It takes her a remarkable amount of will to resist the urge to snort. Though some seem a little wet behind the ears, she would be a fool to call this gathering anything but a tea party for monsters.[break][break]

And what kind of monster would she be if she didn't stick around to partake in some of the most delectable company?

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the new recruits

made by gimmick

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[roadhog]

Obnoxious crunching and chewing noises didn't seem to stop even during their gracious host's speech, nearly finishing off the greasy bucket by this point as Howie half-listened to the weirdos around the room give their spiels. Sucking the sheen off of his claws, then brushing them onto his chest, Howie finally spoke up.

"Any of you need wheels, I got the best rides in town. Something discrete, or something with some real horsepower, we got it." Burping loudly, he let out a high pitched cackle before continuing, "Untraceable, modded, overclocked, or just something seriously badass, drop by the garage and I'll hook you up personally." Pausing and squinting his eyes, he looked around the room, "...and it ain't cheap, no loans or interest, just get to taste the rubber of my tire if you don't pay up..."

Then his nose seemed to latch onto something, sniffing away at the air as a literal deadman came rolling out of one of the trashcans. He coulda sworn he had smelled something when he came in, but he was jowls deep in his bucket of chicken to notice. Now it was unmistakable. This guy fucking reeked. Curling his lip, Howie was struggle to decide if it made him sick or hungry smelling a pile of rotten bones laying around.

@

[Mafdet Khepri]

When the next person came in Khepri greeted him with a cheery wave, listened to his words and then went wide-eyed.

"Have you seen souls? I can't find them no matter where I look."

It'd been a fun two week adventure but Khepri hadn't made the slightest bit of headway in their goal. Every time they thought they found what they were looking for it turned out to be something else. Spotting another person coming in Khepri pointed at him. "Oh, I think he brought the snacks."

The comment about Halloween caught Khepri's interest. Was that when vigilante meetups usually happened? Their eyes widened. Was that why everyone wore costumes on that day? But the sheer amount of planning something like that would take...

Khepri remained utterly lost in thought while more and more people came in, absentmindedly waving at them, each theory that popped into their head being more outlandish than the last. Only when Ghouligan spoke up once more did the train reach its station with a metaphorical puff of steam coming out of their ears letting the catbug refocus on their surroundings.

Khepri agreed with most of his points. They were lost and alone so often, sometimes even while they were on their way to the hero institution. Whether involving others would help with that they weren't sure of but it couldn't hurt to find out right? Attentively listening to everyone's introductions they tried their best not to get sidetracked agai-

Was that a skeleton falling out of a trash can?

They were once more reminded of their past adventure, albeit that time the skeleton hadn't gotten up nor did it start talking. Did that mean this one had a soul? Khepri didn't know nor did they have too much time to focus on it, it was their turn to introduce themself if they weren't mistaken.

"Hi hiya hello everyone! I'm Sphinx! My specialty is bringing smiles to the faces of the downtrodden and also close range high-impact assaults. I'm good at tracking, chasing and hunting down a single target as well as performing rescue missions. If anyone has any questions ask away, I love riddles! Did you know a squirrel would need to fall about 4800 miles in order to die because that would give it time to starve to death because otherwise they can just survive terminal velocity?”


------


Tags: Ghouligan JoJo Hiro roadhog Arima Kysaly Hugh Morris Hoshino Tamaki

[Hiro]

The ranks swelled considerably, even after Ghouligan had said his piece. Jealously he stared at the one eating greasy chicken on his own.

"I feel I need to address the elephant in the room, why did this guy bring chicken to a party and not be prepared to share?" he’d comment out loud, if only to suppress the sound his gut made at the thought of juicy crisp fried chicken.

It didn’t matter anyways, before he knew it the chicken was gone, and so was his chance of a meal. The rest of the group started talking again, and now Hiro was transfixed by the skeleton in the room.

"That’s a dope suit, must’ve taken a lot of effort to make." Hiro’d call out at the foul mouthed skeleton boy.

He’d try to slap the guy on the shoulder, and at close up realized it wasn’t a suit but rather… Well, his everything. At least they were covered up, not that there was much to hide from the eyes.

Hiro was very much screaming internally at their presence, and would awkwardly look elsewhere as he equally awkwardly ‘snuck’ his way back to the furthest corner in the room.

"Uh, anyways… When’s the after-party?" he’d ask, trying his best to look cool leaning against the wall only to slip and nearly hit his head on the concrete.

---

|

[Arima]

Everyone was standing silent when the man who introduced himself as Ghouligan spoke up. Arima wanted to know more about the organization so listened attentively to every word spoken. Based on what he understood, Undertow is a social group that doesn't obligate its members to do any tasks, aligning perfectly to his schedules and priorities. One by one, he looked at the faces of everyone in the room. Some looked serious, some didn't. He learned the hard way to not judge people from their facade.

Out of nowhere, everyone can hear a noise from the trashcan. When it tipped over, an individual who looks like a corpse emerged who sounds like a little kid. Having seen weirder stuffs, Arima was not shocked at all but he was interested. He realized that each and every one in the room have an ability that may be equally or much more interesting. Recognizing the potential for each person in the room to possess equally intriguing abilities, he remained attentive, eager to learn more through their introductions.

Two introduction later, people were taking but no one was doing any introductions. So he stepped forward and kept the fire burning. "My name is Arima. Maybe you haven't heard of me but some people know me as Scarlet Spider. I usually do my job alone but I realized the volume of crimes is becoming overwhelming, making solo efforts less than ideal. Not to mention, my abilities, connections, and resources are quite limited, so there are jobs I can't pull off anymore. With that, I thought it would be ideal to join a group with similar goals, to coordinate and work together effectively." Arima isn't sure if he conveyed his thoughts effectively and articulated his points well. It was his first time speaking in front of other people for a very long time so he doubts he did.